Who doesn’t love a good mystery?
I stumbled upon a local one a few weeks back when, on one of my quests to find a good meal, I found myself in downtown Kelseyville vacillating between pizza and Mexican food. I tend to minimize my outings nowadays, like everyone else, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, but luckily there are many food and take-out options still available in our county.
On this particular evening I found myself walking on Main Street and I spotted a little green kiosk located between the antiques and collectibles store and Oak Boutique. Upon closer inspection I noticed that the green kiosk had a wooden latch you could unfasten which revealed a trove of used paperbacks. After perusing through this collection of books for several minutes, I observed that the small collection was composed of all types of different genres, from popular romance to biographies to science fiction. My favorite! I found a great copy of Isaac Asimov’s “Space Mail” a collection of short stories by top science fiction artists of his generation.
The kiosk functions as a sort of lending mini-library which operates on the honor system, you are welcome to take a book, but in return you are supposed to leave another book for others to enjoy. This is not a unique concept. In fact, I know of a number of libraries which employ the same type of system, in Mendocino County for example, before the pandemic, patrons could walk into the Ukiah library and find an entire shelf with books to enjoy, the only requirement being if you took one, you were also expected to bring one back.
But where did this one come from? Why was this kiosk library here in the middle of Main Street and inconspicuously placed in between these retail spaces and far from any local or county library? These thoughts kept popping back into my head as I used the kiosk every time I remembered to do so whenever I found myself in the downtown area. Before COVID-19 disrupted everyone’s lives and routines, I had made it a new year’s resolution in 2020 to read more books. I have always thought of myself as a literary person but I found that of late I had been in a rut, putting in my weekly work hours and using my free time away from work to become passive, streaming content on my computer, playing mmorpgs or engaging in few intellectual pursuits.
The little green book kiosk reinvigorated my goal of reading more this year, a pursuit I had abandoned after the first day of the year. On New Year’s Day I found myself off from work and engrossed in the “Planet of the Apes” novel by French author Pierre Boulle. I recall being so fascinated by the narrative, which differed from the famous 1968 film adaptation, that it became the first novel in a long time which I read cover to cover, almost non-stop.
Then one day I discovered the answer to my mystery. Upon closer inspection, on the side of the kiosk there is a dedication which reads: “Dedicated to Quincy Charter Andrus, her love of reading inspires us all. Hooves and Wheels Driving Club, Lake County Horse Council, Karen Sullivan, Dave Lowrie.”
I personally never met Ms. Andrus, but I remember that last year’s Lake County Rodeo was dedicated in her honor. I also remember sitting in the newspaper office last summer when they emailed us a copy of her obituary. Andrus ended her fight with cancer and passed away in the morning of April 16 2019. According to the obituary which ran in the paper, at the time of her passing she was surrounded by Kirk, her husband of 39 years, her three daughters, Sabrina, Caitlin and Megan, and four grandchildren Kirk Penn, Scarlett, Callahan, and Baby Gray.
Born in Vallejo Sept 7,1951 to SPR Charter (theoretical physicist and author) and Mary Charter King (writer- “Quincie Bolivar”) she grew up in Olema, West Marin. Andrus and her first horse, Joby, along with her dog, Laddie, spent their days wandering the Pt. Reyes coast and the hills of West Marin. Always with book in hand on her rides, Andrus was “a life-long lover of reading- a wonderful love that she passed on to her family.” It sounds like she touched many lives and was loved by a lot of people.
I would like to thank the late Ms. Andrus for reinforcing and revitalizing my interest in a good book. My latest trek to the kiosk saw me deliver that copy of “Planet of the Apes” and a few days later I noticed it was already gone, being enjoyed by another voracious reader, I am sure. I hope they enjoy the journey.
